Alex Moore, one of the great founding fathers of Sauk Centre, in 1885. He constructed the first dam in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, which was destroyed in the ice breakup of 1860 but soon rebuilt using the power for the saw and grist mill.
Portrait of Lt. Matthew F. Magner, a member of Company F of the 43rd Battalion of the Virginia Cavalry. This unit served with Mosby's Rangers in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. The Magner family settled in Nicollet County prior to the war.
Jacob Dieter is photographed in his Civil War uniform. He enlisted in 1862 and served in company F of the Ninth Minnesota Regiment. His family accompanied him to Fort Ridgely, Minnesota and returned home when his unit was sent to another location. Jacob Dieter was reported missing after the battle of Guntown. He had been captured by the Confederate forces along with twenty-six other Olmsted County men. The group was transferred to Andersonville Prison. On June 22, 1864, he wrote his last letter from Andersonville Prison. He jumped off a train while being transferred to another prison, but was re-captured. He died in Salisbury Prison in 1864 at the age of thirty-eight.
This is a photograph of Rev. Aaron H. Kerr, a Presbyterian minister in St. Peter, who became the chaplain of Minnesota's Ninth Regiment of Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War.
Portrait of St. Peter resident Lt. John Kinsman Hezlep, a member of the West Point Class of 1865 (where he graduated #14 in a class of 68). He was the son of George Hezlep, one of the members of the St. Peter Company, the group of men who founded the community of St. Peter. Hezlep served in the U.S. Infantry and Engineers and died in service of Yellow Fever on August 13, 1867 at Fort Morgan, Alabama.
This is a photograph of John Otherday, whose Dakota name was Ampatutokacha. Called Good Sounding Voice when he was young, he was born in the vicinity of Swan Lake in Nicollet County about 1819.
This is a photograph of Rev. Moses Newton Adams and his wife. Adams was a Presbyterian minister and missionary at Traverse des Sioux. He became the Indian Agent at the Sisseton Agency in 1871.
Portrait of Sam Bowler who owned the State Bank and Lumberyard (until 1904 at which time he moved to Colorado) and. F. J. Whitlock sitting in the back of a wagon. A boxcar on train tracks is visible behind them and a dog is looking up at them.
Grandma Emelia Ulrich Hilke with two teams of horses in a field. Photograph is inscribed, "Grandma Hilke at Good Thunder, Emelia ULRICH Hilke (Mrs. Frederich)."
Formal portrait of the Ren Dixon Post 191, Grand Army of the Republic. Pictured in the front row, second from the left, Hans O. Grinder, fourth from the left, Martin O. Grinder.
Besides fostering the mission of education, especially the academy, in which the sisters of St. Benedict's Convent were engaged by 1880, Mother Scholastica Kerst is best known for fearlessly launching the community into the new field of health care. Under her leadership, St. Benedict's Convent flourished as did the hospitals in Bismarck, Duluth and St. Cloud. During her administration of nine years, the membership of the community increased from 57 to 164; the number of parochial schools staffed by the sisters had grown from 10 to 28; the orphanages, schools and hospitals became monuments of her enterprise and executive ability. Mother Scholastica had the spirit of the American frontier in her blood. Mother Scholastica (Catherine) Kerst was born in Prussia in 1847 and came to St. Paul, MN, with her parents in her infancy. She entered St. Gertrude's Convent, Shakopee, MN, in 1862, two days after its establishment. Bishop Thomas Grace, O.P., of St. Paul, required that she spend some of her formation period at St. Gertrude's founding motherhouse in St. Marys, PA. This experience in a well-established, older convent and her own flair for leadership and good business, gave her the impetus to request permission to establish a convent in St. Paul with four other sisters. Instead, church authorities advised her to transfer to St. Benedict's Convent, St. Joseph, MN, which she did in 1877. Three years later Abbot Alexius Edelbrock appointed her prioress of St. Benedict's Convent. [Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives ; McDonald, ppage93-95]
Forest L. Pinney, one of the early settlers of the state, came to Minnesota in 1856 and located himself at Monticello and Anoka where he worked as a surveyor.
Mr. and Mrs. Hiram Jacoby of St. Peter. Mr. Jacoby was a very early resident of the community. He was a skilled photographer, who photographed many people, homes, and businesses in the St. Peter area.
The first college freshman class is shown in a classroom setting. Pictured are: (first row) Charlie Olson, Olivia Eckloff, Anna Eckloff, Dr. J. P. Uhler, E. C. Sahlstrom (Mrs. Aug. Hed), Mary Meyer (Mrs. Turitin), William J. Tilderquist, G. A. Petri.; (second row) A. Godenius[?], Solomon Eckman, Rev. A. G. Olson, Rev. C. P. Lundgren, G. S. Olson, Joseph A. Jackson; (third row) Alfred J. Holmes, A. F. Lundquist, C. O. Cassel, Bar, C. A. Ramstead, Anton W. Holmes, Adolph C Olson, C. E. Seashore, John F. Dahl, O. B. Solvanus.
Group of horticulturalist professors on an outing. Pictured L-R in top row: Samuel B Green (MN), LC Corbett (WV), SC Mason (KN), B Von Herff (Ohio College), W.R. Lazenvy, L.R. Jones (VT), R. McGinnis, Chas F Wheeler (MI), E.S. Goff (WI), S.A.Beach (NY), Stintson.
Portrait of Reverend William Wallace and his family. Wallace served as the minister at the Union Presbyterian Church in St. Peter from 1889 until 1890.
Future Minnesota Governor John A. Johnson and his wife camping with friends near St. Peter. The names are on the reverse side of the photograph. John A. Johnson is number 15 and his wife is number 21. The photograph was taken in the 1890s.
Shoto walking with two walking sticks in Shakopee. Father J. J. Girrimondi of St. Mary's Church baptized 90-year-old Shoto in 1894 and buried him 1899. Shoto was one of Chief Shakopee's braves.
Portrait of Dr. Maloney standing in the middle of the gravel road some 200 yards from the "Giraffe" water tower. He is wearing a suit and top hat with a chain watch in his pocket. His St. Bernard-type dog is standing at his side.
Pictured in the front row, left to right: Theodore Gilman, Hans O., James Ludvig, Mathea, John Olaus. Back row: George Edward, Benjamin Henry, Albert Martin, Carl Otto.
Portrait of the officers of Templars of Tempereance. Identified in this picture are Gustav Eide, who later moved to the midwest and lived in Minneapolis (thrid from the left in back row), and John Figved, who came west and settled in Milwaukee (first from left in front row).
Pastor Thomas Johnsen (1837-1906) served as the pastor of the Norseland Lutheran Church (originally known as Nicollet Lutheran Church) in Nicollet County, Minnesota from 1863 until 1906. He was a member of the Norwegian Synod. His original field was the entire area west of the Minnesota River. He served the area and established churches in sixteen counties of Minnesota.